I knew it! I had that feeling in my gut that things didn’t add up. Now my new ice pal Jack confirmed it.
“I can’t tell you what I know, just that dark times are coming and you, One of Oberon will be tested much harder than you have been to date.”
“O-Oberon?”
“What did I tell you about talking?” He put his finger up to my mouth to keep it quiet. “The witch has already told you about your lineage. You bare the Mark of Oberon himself and soon you will learn more about that. For now, you need to focus on finishing this challenge.”
My eyes were starting to feel heavy from the cold. Liz and Tucker still were wandering around, almost as if they’d forgotten about me.
“Hang in there Vic, be strong for me!” Jack gave me a slap across the face. “Ahh screw it. Your old vampire’s book is misleading. As you know, the Scythe of Death is a misdirection from the real item of value here.”
Jack snapped his fingers and a ghostly blue orb appeared in front of us.
“My sister and I made this little beauty. We gave it to the Teacher a long time ago. When his time came to pass, we decided it was best to hide it away, for the power could easily corrupt even the most just.”
“W-what is it?”
“I’ll allow that question. There are places on this plane that allow access to both areas of Pure Light and areas of Dark. The Gem of Babylon grants the holder entry.”
His blue eyes took a serious look for the first time, as if willing me to see the bigger picture.
“You know that Cain is imprisoned in what you now call Turkey. A bad dude like that might want to have this in his possession if he ever gets out. He feels there are wrongs that need to be righted.”
Jack stood up and stretched his legs. I tried to stand up, but I was weak. I didn’t think I’d last much longer in this cold.
“I must congratulate you Victor Inglewood, for you survived and persevered in the face of overwhelming odds. I name you my champion and bless you as you go forth.”
One more time, he snapped his fingers. The temperature immediately warmed up and the ice disappeared. The stupor Tucker and Liz were in also lifted.
Liz freaked out. “Vic, Vic! I do not know what came over me! I forgot all about you! I am so sorry!”
Liz pushed her sobbing head into my chest. “It’s okay. The guy who controls this area is with me. Tell her she had nothing to worry about Jack.”
He was gone. I think she thought the ice ruined my mind. “Who is Jack? Are you sure you are alright?”
“I swear he was here! He gave me a ton of information and made the cold go away.”
Tucker had a weird look to his eye. “What did you say his name was?”
“He said his real name was a bit tough to say, so he called himself Jack. Said we would’ve met his sister had we gone the other way.”
Tucker looked like he might crap himself. “Victor my dear boy, you just spoke with the angel Jecoliah! He and his sister Jehoash are the powers of God! He is the endurer, the cold force while she’s the fire of Jehovah. An angel was here!”
Whoa, that made the encounter all the more heavy. “He seemed to know a lot what’s going down here.”
“What did he tell you darling? Did he provide us with any answers?”
“Well, we are almost caught up with the others. Also, there is treasure here, the Gem of Babylon which we gotta make sure no one gets their hands on.” Tucker gasped at that name. “Also, everything we thought we knew is false.”
In an annoyed tone, “I am guessing he could not elaborate.”
“You got it Liz. He left me with the ominous dark times are coming. For some reason I believed every word he said.”
Tucker meekly asked, “Did he say anything about any of us by chance?”
“No Warren he didn’t. But look at it this way, only you can redeem yourself. No one else can walk that path for you.”
Chapter 33
Once more, we were back in total darkness. My body was still in semi-shock from the freezer treatment, but we kept soldiering on. My new pal Jack said we had almost caught up to them.
“Warren,” Liz stopped us, “do you recognize the Gem of Babylon? Your reaction spoke volumes when Vic mentioned it.”
“It is one of those old tales they tell us in Seminary. There are a great deal of artifacts that people want to believe in but aren’t real. That’s one of them.”
“Jack said it would let one access places of Light or Dark and in the wrong hands, that’d be bad. What’d he mean by that?” I had an idea, but it never hurts to ask.
“I imagine that was his way of saying they are gates to Heaven or Hell. That is not something to be trifled with.”
With nothing really left to say to that, we kept going. I got the feeling that our journey was coming to an end; I couldn’t really place it, but yeah. Our path funneled into a main room where four others came together. On the far side of this chamber was a perfectly round opening.
“This is the antechamber to the treasure room. The magical field has already been extinguished, so all we need to do is walk forward.” He closed the book and handed it to Liz. “My usefulness has come to an end.”
“Tucker what’re you talking about?”
He sighed, “You were right Victor, my path to redemption was mine to walk and there is nothing more I can do.”
Liz looked concerned, “Warren, what are you saying?”
“It is time for me to meet my fate. I’m ready to be judged.”
“This is crazy talk. You still gotta lot to do to make up for everything you’ve done!” Killing one’s self was the coward’s way out in my book, a lot like Divas did.
“I’m not going to kill myself if that is what you’re thinking. As hypocritical as it sounds, I still follow my faith. No, what I’m going to do is much nobler, at least I hope so.”
Neither of us said anything. I didn’t know what he had planned and I was conflicted. Part of me wanted him to die, but a bigger part of me realized he was trying to atone.
Tucker reached into his pocket and pulled out a small vial, a lot like the one I gave Liz with my blood in it. Only this vial was green, not red. “I’ve saved the last of my Holy Water for such an occasion. Much like what happened to my son, when my heart stops beating; my body will turn into a bomb.”
“Just what the hell are you going to do?”
He opened the bottle and drank the Holy Water. “Save the girl and get the gem. Don’t let me death be in vain.”
He turned and ran down the tunnel, towards the others. Both Liz and I were stunned. “What do we do now?”
She stared at the tunnel for a moment, listening to the yells that began to break out from the other side. “We go get Rosette and get to the bottom of this before he blows this place up.”
“I never thought he’d pull a stunt like that.”
“Me either Vic.” Screaming and gunshots rang out from the end of the tunnel. “Come, we do not have much time.”
I pulled out Roscoe and followed her as she took off. “I’ll give you cover if needed.”
The tunnel wasn’t very long and the all out mayhem was evident well before we got to the final chamber. When we crossed the threshold, Tucker was on the warpath, attacking Pan all the while Rosette was being held by Jonathan and Roderick was advancing slowly upon them.
In the center of the room was a pedestal with the ghostly blue orb I’d seen from Jack. Pan was doing his best to avoid Tucker and go after it, but to no avail. Jonathan was taking shots at both Tucker and Roderick, but holding Rosette the way he was, his shots were errant and pretty reckless.
“Tucker you fool! Why are you doing this?” I looked over to see Pan slammed up against the wall.
Tucker squeezed his neck. “Because I am a MAN OF GOD! You will regret turning me into this daemon!”
I had no time to worry about those two. Liz was already running over to her brother and Rod, so it was up to me to get the gem. Ducking, as a bullet from John
’s gun came flying my way, I got back to my feet and ran to the center of the room. I reached out to grab the gem and was thrown back by some power.
I was pretty sure I needed Rosette to break whatever charm was on this thing. That presented a whole new host of problems. Rod was bearing down on John, Liz, and Rosette – there was nothing sane about the look in his eyes.
On top of that, it seemed Tucker was starting to succumb to the knife wounds Pan was causing. From what I knew about the Holy Water, we were running short on time.
“Elizabeth, I must ask you to move! Trust me when I tell you I know what I am doing!” He had on old flintlock pistol in his hand.
“You are not well Roderick! You are turning a weapon on Jonathan and I! We have long been your biggest supporters!”
The three way vampire stand-off was not going well either. Rod lifted his gun and pointed at John. “I should have done this long ago.”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Two to the chest and one to the head, Rod dropped to the stone floor. Would that kill him? The smoking barrel of Roscoe was all I could see for a moment. No, we didn’t have time. “Liz, get John outta here! Rosette, I need you now!”
Still with a shocked look on her face, Liz grabbed her equally shook up brother and started towards the chambers exit. When Rosette got close, I grabbed her and pulled her to the pedestal. “I need you to break this enchantment.”
“That’s not a good idea Vic! Ye need to trust…”
“I trust you very much, but that old man is a ticking time bomb and as soon as he dies, this place is going to blow! Please, break the spell so we can get the hell outta here!”
Putting her hands up, she started muttering some words that sounded like gibberish to me. I was getting worried, especially when I saw Pan slice Tucker’s neck and the old man fell.
“You dare defy Pan! I’ll see you in Hell Warren!” Pan brought his knife up and stabbed Tucker in the heart. Another quick movement took the head off the shoulders. We were outta time.
“Vic, the spell is broken, grab it!”
I took the gem and with my other hand grabbed Rosette’s. “We need to run!”
The two of us took off as fast as we could. The ticking sound, just like what happened with his son started, growing louder and faster. I wrapped Rosette up in my arms and jumped as the explosion went off. The fire and heat rushed towards us, pushing us into the antechamber.
The whole place shook with the explosion. Rocks from the ceiling began collapsing over us. We kept running, towards the path we came from. Avoiding rocks and cracks forming in the floor, we made it. John and Liz were waiting for us.
“Liz, Vic, there is something you need to know!”
Rosette sounded scared, but I figured it was okay. “No, there’s nothing to fear. No one could’ve survived that explosion.”
It was only when John reached out and punched her in the face did I realize what was going on. “You two really should have listened to her.”
I went to grab my gun, but I felt a strong hand grab my shoulder and push me to the ground. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
Pan. “You survived you little bastard.”
“It’ll take more than a big boom to put me away. It’s a shame Warren chose to end his life like that.”
“Elizabeth,” John walked over to her, “surrender now and no one else needs to die.”
She looked defiant, but when Pan grabbed me and I screamed out, she stopped. “Okay, I will go peacefully, brother.” The last word was filled with betrayal.
“Good.”
That’s the last thing I remembered, as Pan brought his fist down on my face.
Chapter 34
I woke up, chained to a wall, next to a cask filled with wine, no blood. As my head began to clear, I recognized my surroundings as Rod’s place in Hillside.
“Rise and shine Vic.”
“Gregory, is that you?”
“Unfortunately. Pan and Jonathan jumped us when they got back before we could realize what was going on. They poisoned us with silver nitrate.” No wonder I felt so bad. “Is it true you killed Roderick?”
“Maybe, I don’t know.” Looking back, it wasn’t one of my finer moments. Everything had been so confusing and it seemed like he was working with Pan. Turns out we were all pretty damn dumb. “I can’t believe John was the one the entire time.”
“I had no clue either. I mean he always seemed a bit off, but that is how I always remembered him.”
It all made sense though. He was the one who saved Pan as a kid, he was the one with all the proof against Rod, everything. It looked like he went as far as to sacrifice his own friend to keep the ruse up.
“Damnit, why didn’t I listen to Jack?”
“Not to be in the dark here, but who is Jack?”
I laughed, “You probably won’t believe it, but he was an angel who helped me while we were down there.”
The door to the cellar opened. Two sets of footsteps came in. “Look at this Kano, your cousin is awake! What a day for a family reunion.”
Great, Pan and Kano were here. “To what do we owe this great pleasure?”
He acted offended, “I thought you’d be happy to see us! Kano, aren’t you upset at the way your cousin is acting?”
But there was no Kano left. The feral state had full taken over, only the wolf was left. He snarled at me, fangs bore.
“So, here’s what’s going to happen to you two,” he started back out the cellar, “you’re going to die. While that happens, Jonathan and I are going to go free Cain. Any questions before I leave?”
“Is John the Hammer of Jehovah?”
Pain laughed at me. “You know, he hates that you call him John. He told me he was going to be sorry he missed your execution.” He cocked his head to the side, as if thinking, “To answer your question, maybe he is. I don’t really know or care who might be leading this little adventure.”
It was Gregory’s turn. “Where are Elizabeth, Rosette, and Rissa?”
“Funny you should ask; the ladies are being spared for the moment. Obviously, we still need the witch.”
I tried to make a move towards him, but the chains made it futile. “You bastard, you better not have hurt any of ‘em.”
He looked at me quite amused. “Don’t worry, Jonathan would never hurt his sister. As for the other girl, I think my boy Johnny has a thing for her.” Pan walked to the door and then turned around. “Kano, attack!”
He slammed the door, leaving us with an enraged werewolf. I was chained to the cask and couldn’t move. This wasn’t the way I planned to go out.
“Gregory, if you have any ideas on what to do…”
Kano dropped to all fours. He was barely recognizable and he embraced the final stage. Fur rippled, covering his body, and his clothes ripped off as his body size increased. He gave off a howl and started to approach his target, me.
He snapped twice at me. He knew I was stuck and could take his time playing with his next meal. The second time around, he caught my arm with his jaw, tearing a decent chuck out. I refused to scream, not giving him the satisfaction of knowing I was hurt.
Annoyed, Kano took his front paw and swatted my face, leaving more claw marks on my cheek. “Is that the best you can do Omega?”
The wolf howled again, this time more in anger. I don’t know if he was capable of remembering anything, but it was because of me he was here. I bested him in combat in front of the clan, causing him to become the Omega and ostracized from everyone. It was what he deserved.
His yellow eye told me he still remembered. He tried to talk, but it only came out in snarls and growls. “The next time you hit me, you best end my life. If I get free, I’ll put you down for good.”
It was an empty threat, I was stuck and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to change that. I wasn’t going out without trying though, so I began to pull as hard as I could. My binds were anchored deep into the wall and it wasn’t giving. Seeing my effort, Kano brought
his paw back, ready to deal the killing blow.
Our eyes locked, the intense hatred of his yellow eyes burned me to the core. Just like the night in front of my family, I felt a surge come forth. As his claws came down, I gave one last push to free myself.
“URRRRGHHH!!!”
My last effort was worth it as the chains broke free from the wall and snapped forward, hitting Kano in the face. The feral wolf yelped as it fell to the ground, injured. I pounced on the opportunity and tied the chains around his neck. Kano began to buck, trying his best to throw me off.
It soon became a war of attrition. I tried my best to keep those chains around his neck and strangle the life out of him. The harder it was for him to breathe, the more wild and savage he became. He slammed me into the wall behind us a few times, trying to get me to let go.
I refused. Each time I went into the unforgiving brick, my back cracked. As I pulled harder, he slammed back higher and my head took the brunt of the hit. I closed my eyes, trying my best to keep the pain at bay. With one final pull, the life left the wolf and he fell.
I dropped too, tired and in pain. I fell beside my cousin and in death, he reverted back to his human form, the way he looked before he turned feral. Although we never got along, seeing my cousin’s broken body was a tough pill to swallow.
“Victor, are you okay?”
I coughed a few times. “It seems like you vampires are always checking up on me.”
“That is because you are always doing incredibly stupid things! Brave, but stupid.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence Gregory.”
Shock was still etched on his face. “I cannot believe you were able to break free. The silver nitrate should have kept you incapacitated.”
He was right; I shouldn’t have been able to overcome the poison so easily. “When’s the last time they shot us up?”
“Not that long ago, maybe about an hour or so. I do not even think I could stand up right now.”
The Wrath of Pan (The Inglewood Chronicles Book 2) Page 15